Catch for instrument-cases, &amp;c.



vNo. 724,164.5 PATENTED MAR. 31, 1903.

H. L. GURREN.

CATCH FOR INSTRUMENT CASES, &c.

APPLICATION FIL-BD SEPT. 12. 1902.

No MQDBL.

*4 Lynn,

WITNESSES: INVENTUM:

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, i ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT FEICE.

HENRY L. CURREN, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

CATCH FOR iNsTRuMENT-CASES, ato.

S'PCIFG'ATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 724,164, dated March 31, 1.903. Application iled wSeptember 12, 1902. Serial No. 123,072. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern,.-

Beit known that I, HENRY L. CURREN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Catches for Instrument- Cases,&c.; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, and to'numerals of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The objects of this invention are to provideY for instrument-cases, dress-suit cases,and the like a catch which shall be easily manipulated and at the same time neat in appearance and secure in its action, to provide such a catch whichcan be readily unlocked and which when released will maintain an unlocked relation, to obtain a simple durable construction, and to secure other advantages and results, some of which may be hereinafter referred to in connection with the description of the working parts. Y*

The invention consists in the improved catch for instrument-cases, dac., and in the arrangements and combinations of parts of the same, all substantially as willbe hereinafter set forth and finally embraced in the clauses ofthe claim.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in each of the several iigures, Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved catch as applied to a case, and Fig. 2 is -a vertical central section of the same. Fig. 3

*is a front elevation of the post or stud member of my catch; and Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view on linea, Fig. 1.

In said drawings, 2 indicates the upper portion or cover of a case of any ordinary construction, and 3 indicates the lower or body portion of the case. To these parts I have to be fixed to the case-cover 2 somewhat back from its edge, as by nails or screws 7, and to the edge of said plate 6 next to the edge of the case-cover is hinged a hasp 8, which is adapted to extend out from the edge of the said cover and overreach the body portion 3 of the case to engage the coperating catch member thereon. Said hasp 8 has at or near its end a perforation 9, and in the inner walls of said perforation is formed an annular recess or chamber l2, in which I place a somewhat V-shaped spring 13, preferably of round wire, and the arms of which normally tend to approach inwardly from the opposite -sides of the chamber and projecting into the open space thereof. For mechanical reasons the said annular chamber is preferably formed by making the hasp of three plates, as shown, themiddle one having a perforation of the size of the-annular charnber 12 and then the other two plates 10 1l" being applied at opposite sides with perforations .sm-aller than the perforation in the middle plate, but registeringtherewith and with each other concentrically when the plates are riveted or otherwise secured together. Any other way of forming the annular chamber may be employed, however.

The post or studmember of my improved catch comprises a plate 14, adapted to be firmly fastened to the case -body 3, as by means of nails or screws 15, and said plate, which is preferablydished from beneath, is centrally perforated to receive the reduced stem 16 of the post or stud 17, and which post or stud is free to rotate. The inner end of said stem carries a washer 18, and between said Washer and the plate 14 is coiled a spring 19, one end of which is fast to the stem, While the other end is secured to the plate 14. Said coiled spring thus normally holds the post 17 in position,while permitting its rotation away from said position. The outer end of said post or stud 17 is flattened from two opposite sides to provide a finger-piece 20, which finger-piece is normally held by the-spring 19 transversely of the V-shaped spring 13 in the hasp member, as shown in Fig. 1. In the side of the said post adjacent to one edge of the said finger-piece 20 is a notch or recess 21, adapted to receive an arm of the V-shaped spring 13 when the hasp member 4 is forced IOO Vio

over the post or stud. To release the catch, it is necessary only to turn the post or stud by means of its finger-piece 20 sufficiently to disengage the notch or recess from the Wire spring, when the hasp member is free to slip upward over the post 17 and its finger-piece. To secure an automatic movement of the hasp S in freeing itself from the post or stud, I prefer to arrange upon the hinge 22 a coiled spring 23, underlying at its opposite ends the plate 6 and hinged hasp 8 and tending to throw said hasp outwardly away from the case.

Various changes from the detail construction described may be made or well-known equivalents substituted without departing from the spirit and scope of my invent-ion, and I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself by the positive descriptive terms employed except as the state of the art may require.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new isl. In a catch, an apertured hasp, a resilient arm normally extending across said aperture near its edge and a rotary post adapted to enter said aperture and having a recess to receive the said resilient arm.

2. In a catch, a hinged hasp having near its free end an aperture being provided with a circumferential recess in the wall of the said aperture, a resilient arm working in said recess in the plane of the aperture and normally projecting into said aperture, and a rotary post adapted to enter the said aperture and having a lateral recess to receive the said resilient arm.

3. In a catch, a swinging hasp apertured near its end and having a circumferential recess in the walls of said aperture, a resilient arm normally projecting from said recess into the aperture, a rotary post adapted to enter said aperture and having in its side a recess adapted to receive said resilient arm, a spring normally holding said post with its recess in position to receive the arm, and means for turning said post.

4E. In a catch, the combination with an apertured hinged hasp having a resilient arm projecting into said aperture, of a rotary post or stud adapted to enter said aperture and engage said arm, a spring at the base of said post adapted to normally hold it in locking position, and a finger-piece at the other end of said post having an inclined surface at its outer end adapted to push the resilient arm to one side on entering the hasp-aperture.

5. In a catch, an aperturecl hasp member, a resilient arm mounted thereon and normall y lying across said npertu re near its edge, and a second member having a rotary post adapted to enter the aperture and provided with a recess to receive the resilient arm, a spring normally holding said post with its recess in position to receive the resilient arm, and a finger-piece for turning said post.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 23d day of August, 1902.

HENRY L. CURREN.

Witnesses:

CHARLES H. PELL,

C. B. PITNEY. 

